Luke 1:28. And Hebrews, i.e., the angel, as the later manuscripts (followed in the E. V.) insert. To refer it to any human being, makes sheer non-sense of the account.

Came in. This was not a dream, ‘but a visit in open day. Although, of course, in a quiet hour of retirement as more befitting and satisfactory under the circumstances.'

Thou that art highly favored, or, ‘endued with grace,' one on whom grace or favor has been conferred and abides. See on Ephesians 1:6. Hence it does not refer to any external beauty of Mary, nor does it mean ‘full of grace (Vulgate and Roman Catholic versions).' She is here presented ‘not as the mother of grace, but as the daughter of grace.'

The Lord is with thee. This might mean's ‘The Lord be with thee;' an angelic benediction. But it is more probably a declaration of the Divine presence and blessing as already with her. The rest of the verse is to be rejected; comp. Luke 1:42, from which it was taken. The first part of the Ave Maria, the famous Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin, is formed by this verse: ‘Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.' The second is taken from Luke 1:42: ‘Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.' These Scripture passages were first used as a standing form of prayer in the thirteenth century. At the beginning of the sixteenth century (1508), just before the Reformation, a third part was added, which contains a direct invocation: ‘Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.' The concluding words (in italics) were, however, a still later addition.

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Old Testament